ExtraOrdinary Man
by Genne
Summary: The Doctor and John Smith were two completely different men. For one thing, John Smith didn't fall in love with his housemaid, Rose.
1. Prolog

**Disclaimer: BBC's durr. And the idea isn't even mine. It was from the lovely author 'she-had-a-chance'. **

**Prolog**

The Doctor and Rose slammed into the Tardis doors in their haste. Both breathing heavily, the Doctor tried to open the doors quickly, but they were locked. He yelled in frustration and pulled out his key while Rose patted his shoulder nervously.

"Come on, Come ON!" He yelled at his fumbling hands that were trying to unlock the doors. Rose glanced anxiously over her shoulder and then back at the Doctor's back. "Doctor, you might want to hurry." She said as calmly as she could, her nervous pitch barely audible. Just then the lock clicked, the Doctor grabbed for Rose's hand and pulled her inside quickly. Rose closed the doors behind them while the Doctor rushed up to the controls and began pounding at it.

There was a bang and they were both thrown off their feet while the centre of the Tardis began to sparkle madly. The Doctor picked himself up and rushed over to help Rose off the floor. She took his hand readily and stood eye to eye.

The Doctor put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her seriously. "Did they see you?"

Rose looked away quickly, trying to go over everything in her head, "Did they see you?" he repeated, a little more frantic than before. She turned her head and shook her head firmly. "No- they couldn't have."

The Doctor nodded, reassured and ran back to the console. "Off we go!" he said while Rose stood next to him. They were silent so that the Doctor could watch the monitors. His face screwed up with annoyance. "Ahhh!"

"What is it?" Rose asked, following him as he changed screens.

"They're following us." He said quietly, his eyebrows knitting together in frustration. Rose's eyes grew wide in worry and confusion. "But they can't do that, can they? The Tardis can travel through time. They shouldn't be _able_ to follow us!"

The Doctor shook his, without taking his eyes off the screen. "Stolen technology, they've got a Time Agent's vortex manipulator. They can follow us wherever we go; right across the universe- "He paused."They're never going to stop"

He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, his eyes frantic. Rose tried to help, "But there must be something we can do, something to throw them off our track!"

The Doctor looked at her then back at the console. "Nothing… Unless…" He seemed to be thinking his idea through. Rose waited, a plan was coming. "I'll have to do it." He mumbled, almost to himself. The Doctor turned to Rose and looked her right in the eye. "Rose, you trust me don't you?"

Rose nodded. "Of course I do!"

He gave her a quick smile of appreciation before he ducked under the console saying: "Good, cause it all depends on you."

"What? What does? What do you need me to do?"

The Doctor stood back up, a silver pocket watch in his hand. He took her hand in one of his own and held the watch up with the other. "Take this watch Rose. Cause my life depends on it." At this, she looked confused and a little fearful. He continued. "The watch Rose, the watch is-"

John Smith woke up in his bed, bewildered. He'd had another one of those strange dreams again. He looked around to confirm his surroundings, yes; he was still in his bedroom in the school. Wood panels, paintings and books, nothing strange or particularly out of place. John threw his legs over the side of his bed and rubbed his eyes. There was the sound of knocking on the door. "Come in."

Rose, the maid, walked in carrying his breakfast tray. When Rose caught sight of him, her eyes widened and she turned around quickly. "Mr. Smith, you're not dressed. I can come back later."

"No, it's alright, it's alright. Put it down." She turned back to face him, he had put on his dressing gown.

She carried the tray over to him. "There you go, sir. Nice pot of hot tea, made it myself. And some toast, I'd watch the porridge if I were you though."

He smiled and watched her steady the tray onto the table. "Right, thank you." She looked up; he was still watching her intently. "Sorry," he said suddenly as she moved to open the curtains behind him. "Sorry, it's just… sometimes I have these extraordinary dreams."

"What about, sir?"

"I dream… I'm this-" he smiled fondly and tried to search for the right term. "-adventurer. This...daredevil, a madman. 'The Doctor', I'm called. And last night I dreamt that you were there, as my... companion." He looked at her, as though expecting to hear her thoughts on the matter. Rose looked back, taken aback and momentarily at a loss about what to say. "What? The teacher and the housemaid? Not likely to happen anytime soon, sir"

"I was a man from another world, though." He said walking over to the mantle.

Rose lowered her head and poured his tea. "Well, then it can't be true, sir. Because there's no such thing." She said firmly.

"This thing…" he said suddenly and Rose looked up. "The watch…"

Rose watched as he ran his thumb across the top of it slowly.

He put the watch back down on the mantle and turned to her. Her face fell and she looked back down at the tray, disappointed.

"It's funny how dreams slip away-" he said quietly, as though almost to himself. "But I do remember one thing; it all took place in the future, in the year of Our Lord two thousand and seven."

Rose nodded, and picked up the morning paper. "I can prove that wrong for you sir, here's the morning paper."

She placed it in his outstretched hand. "It's Monday, November tenth, nineteen thirteen, and you're completely human, sir." She smiled warily. "'bout as human as they come, sir."

He read the date then looked back up at her. "That's me; completely human." He said and smiled.

**Author's Note: FYI the whole idea was suggested by a lovely ff writer 'she-had-a-chance'. She'd wanted a Human Nature/Family of Blood fic with Rose where John **_**didn't**_** fall for Rose. I think she's quite right in that aspect, seeing as John is **_**completely**_** different from the Doctor… as I hope I will make the differences clear in the upcoming chapters. **---


	2. Rose, Sir

**Disclaimer: BBC, 'she-had-a-chance' and……that's about it really… **

**"Rose, Sir"**

Rose made swift and moody steps towards the kitchens, to get the list of her morning chores.

_House maid Chores_.

She let out a low and heavy breath before walking into the kitchen. The atmosphere was busy, the cooks and the housekeepers were exchanging trays and dishes to get the last of the school boys' breakfasts onto the table in time. Rose stepped sideways past Robert, a nice guy with very little to say but one of the fastest workers in the establishment, and then over to where Jenny, her cleaning partner, was washing some pots.

"Alright then, Jenny?"

Jenny smiled at her but kept on cleaning. "Bad news Rose, we've got the floors today-"

Rose groaned.

"-then I'll be doing the main hall dusting while you polish the banisters. And that's only before lunch time." She added with an apologetic grin. Rose patted her on the shoulder and put in an encouraging face. "Well, I'll get the buckets, shall I? You finish up in here quick and then join me, yeh?" With a nod from Jenny, Rose left the kitchen.

As soon as she was outside, Rose's steps slowed as she mauled over the earlier events. It was all so incredibly _frustrating_! The entire charade was getting worse and worse, and there was nothing she could do. No, there was something she could do, just she wouldn't. Rose hardly thought that the Doctor would thank her if she shoved the fob watch that contained his true self into his, sorry, _John's_ hands and made him open the damn thing so that they could get the hell out of nineteen thirteen. Not that the idea hadn't crossed her mind a fare few times over the past month…

Rose came to a halt and opened the broom cupboard and got two buckets and scrub brushes, and then walked towards the servants backdoor. Rose shook her head as she pushed the door open with her hip, why did he have to pick a place where there was so much… _social standard setting_? Why, when he had the whole of time and space, did he have to pick somewhere where she had to call him –her doctor- _sir_? It was absolutely ridiculous, she thought while pumping water into the buckets. They just had to be somewhere where seeing someone in their pajamas is considered indecent. Rose rolled her eyes at that, could've just chucked them back into the middle ages, they didn't seem to mind too much back then. Still… she was glad she got a quick glimpse. She hadn't seen him in striped pajamas since he'd regenerated and the sight of it made her giggle slightly, which was why she'd turned so quickly, in attempt to hide the huge grin. The buckets were full; she dumped a scrub brush into each of them and then walked back inside.

Rose and Jenny spent two hours scrubbing the hard wooden floors in some of the smaller room and were later in one the longer corridors next to a staircase. As much as Rose would hate to admit it, the violent scrubbing that she was giving the floors was helping her reduce the suppressed load of emotions. So when the Doctor, _John_, walked pass them she was able to smile up at him as he drifted by. "Morning, Sir." She said pleasantly.

He took a few more steps before slowing down and replying distractedly, "Yes, hello." and then proceeded to walk up the stairs.

Rose and Jenny watched him ascend before turning back the floor. "Head in the clouds that one-" Jenny said with a devious smile. "-don't know why you're so sweet on him."

Rose grinned and continued to scrub. "He's just a good bloke and all. Treats me nice, even if I am his…" she ran her tongue along her teeth with her mouth closed, the frustration was coming back. She scrubbed the floor harder.

"Family housekeeper?" Jenny offered with a cheery smile. Rose gave a bark of laughter… housekeeper, now she felt old.

"Ah, now then, you two." said an authoritative voice. Rose and Jenny stopped laughing and looked up. Two seniors, Baines and Hutchinson, stood over them. Their facial expressions begging to be wiped off via a good smack courtesy of Rose's right hand. "You're not paid to have fun, are you? Put a little backbone into it." Said the one called Baines.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." Said Jenny.

"You there," Hutchinson called, addressing Rose. "What's your name again?"

Rose bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from saying something that she knew she'd regret. "Tyler, Rose Tyler… sir."

"Well then, Tyler." He said, taking a step forward. "How about you come out around the back of the school tonight? There's a shed I'd like to show that's in great need of cleaning, and I'm sure that I'd do a jolly good job in supervising."

Rose could've sworn she'd felt a vein pop somewhere, and there was definitely a twitch in her neck that was going off. "No need to trouble yourself, sir. We'll handle it while you're in class, doing your studies."

Baines and Hutchinson merely laughed and continued down the hall. Rose clenched her jaw and tried to focus her attention on the floor that was likely to have a hole worn through it if she continued to scrub the same spot so hard. Oh, the Doctor was going to get an earful the second he changed back, that was for sure.

---

Rose hitched up her dress and ran up the stairs. She didn't care if anyone saw her like this, as long as she got to him. She heard two boys giggling over seeing 'Mr. Smith' being taken to be looked after by the Matron after having fallen down some stairs. Rose looked wildly around for some kind of confirmation; Jenny just looked at her, "What? Didn't you know?" Without another word, Rose was running towards his study. As soon as the door came into view she ran quicker and rushed in without thinking.

The Doctor was sitting in a chair and looked up at her surprised, while the school Matron stood behind him, one hand on his shoulder, the other in his hair. Rose tried to ignore this and instead looked right at the Matron.

"Is he alright?" she asked, concerned again. The Nurse paused as Rose's sudden entrance before speaking calmly.

"Excuse me, Rose. It's hardly good form to enter a master's study without knocking. "

Rose dug her own nails into her side to (for the second time that day) stop her self from mouthing off… too much.

"Yeh, right- sorry. The door was practically opened anyways, I'll make sure I to knock next time 'round." The Doctor didn't say anything, he merely looked worriedly at her then shifted his eyes over the where Joan's hand was resting on his shoulder, as though afraid that she would leave if he moved. Rose looked at the floor quickly, disappointed by his reaction before looking back at him. "_Are_ you alright? I heard you fell down the stairs." She said softly. He looked uncomfortable and mumbled his reply. "No, it was just a tumble, that's all."

Rose nodded slowly. "Right- good… I'll just—" she waited for him to say something, he didn't. "-tidy your things." She said and moved over to his desk.

"I was just telling Nurse Redfern-- Matron, um, about my dreams." He said conversationally. "They are quite remarkable tales."

Rose's eyebrows shot up and she spun around a little too fast. The weren't paying attention, instead he was starting to explain his dreams to Joan. "I keep imagining that I'm someone else, and that I'm hiding—"

"Hiding? In what way?" asked Joan, interested.

"Um, er... almost every night..." he laughed a little, embarrassed. Rose wanted to vomit. "This is going to sound silly—"

"Tell me." Joan coaxed. Rose rolled her eyes; she might as well have been invisible.

"I dream, quite often, that I have two hearts."

"Well then, I can be the judge of that."

Rose walked around them, worried and watched Nurse Redfern take out her stethoscope and place it over his chest. Rose turned away briefly and squeezed her eyes shut and only turned back around when the Nurse confirmed that he only had one heart. Rose wasn't sure if she was relieved, or disappointed.

"I have written down some of these dreams in the form of fiction... um... not that it would be of any interest…"

Rose's head snapped around, _oh no he wasn't_!

"I'd be very interested." Said Joan quickly.

"Well... I've never shown it to anyone before." He said as he got up and walked over to his desk.

"Yeah well guess whose drawers I'm going through when you're in class." Rose muttered under her breath as she stacked some books.

"_Journal of Impossible Things_" Joan read after he'd handed her a black leather journal. "Just look at these creatures!"

Rose turned her back and made a face while pretending to straighten a picture on the wall. They continued to faun over the journal but The Nurse caught Rose's attention suddenly. "-quite an eye for the pretty girls."

Rose tried to tidy nothing in particular behind them, in attempt to get a glimpse. "Oh no no, she's just an invention." The Doctor said defensively. "This character, Susan, I call her, Susan. I believe that she is supposed to be my charge or something of the sort."

Rose looked at the back of his shoulder confused as they carried on. "Ah, that's the box, the blue box, it's always there. Like a...like a magic carpet, this funny little box that transports me to far away places."

"Like a doorway?"

"Yes."

Rose sighed, just what she needed, another woman who understood everything _right off_. Perfect. She pretended to clean a little longer until The Nurse left, carrying the journal. Rose looked over to at John who was starring dreamily at the floor with his hand placed over the right side of his chest. He wouldn't even notice…so she ran after Nurse Redfern.

"Ma'am!" she called after the Matron. "Ma'am the book!"

Joan turned to face her. "Oh I'll look after it, don't worry. He did say I could read it."

"Yes, but, it's—" Rose smiled innocently. "Silly." She said, channeling John's words.

Joan watched her silently. "They're just stories…"

"Who is he Rose?" Joan asked seriously. Rose's smile dropped. "What?"

"It's like he's left the kettle on. Like... he knows he has something to get back to, but he can't remember what." She said looking over Rose's shoulder at the door. Rose gave a small nervous laugh. "That's just the way he is, you know… bit—"

"You arrived with him, didn't you? He found you employment here at the school, isn't that right?" Joan cut in.

"I used to work for the family," Rose recited awkwardly. "But um, he needed some help while coming to work here and no one else was available so… "

"Well, I'd be careful." Joan said. "If you don't mind my saying, you sometimes seem a little familiar with him. Best remember your position." She then turned to leave. Rose watched her go, an eyebrow cocked and a finger pointed at Joan's unaware back.

**Author's note: wooo! First chapter, up land loaded! I'll update soon… I hope. Let me know how you like it! Oh, and here in lies a shameless bit of 'self-advertising' I wrote a one-shot called 'Memoirs of a School Teacher', which is about when John Smith made the infamous 'Rose' journal entry… if anyone is interested… **


	3. I miss him too

**Disclaimer: British Blood Casting owns all. And the idea, comes from 'she-had-a-chance' (check out her stuff!). Oh and I got a lot of the dialog from the episode from a website, who-transcripts. atspace. com. (just join the dots!)**

--

**"I miss him too…"**

Jenny held her scarf tighter around her frame against the cold. Rose walked out of the pub holding two pints. "There we go." She said placing the mugs down on the sad excuse for a table. Jenny smiled appreciatively and took a gulp.

"Bit chilly t'night, in' nit?" said Jenny conversationally. Rose shrugged and took a swig of her drink. "Nah, not to bad, to be honest." She said absentmindedly, her gaze drawn to the night sky. "I've been to colder places and let me tell you… I wasn't wearing three layers of petticoat when that happened!"

Jenny smiled and nodded, not quite sure if Rose was joking or not. Rose continued to grin at the memory of the last time she'd been to a freezing planet… it had been ages. A shadow of nostalgia wrapped itself over her face, she missed those stars.

Before she could reminiscent any more her view of the same star-strewn sky was altered suddenly by a flash of green. Rose stood up quickly, but just as fast as light had appeared, it had also vanished. "Did you see that?" she said.

"See what?" Jenny asked.

"The light-" Rose pointed and looked over her shoulder at Jenny, the woman's face was puzzled, so Rose let her arm fall to her side but continued to watch the sky. Just then, Nurse Redfern came into sight. Clearly distressed about something. "Is everything alright, Matron?" Rose said, walking over to her. Joan was breathless but pointed at the sky, "Did you see that? There was something in the woods... some sort of light…"

Rose was about to answer when John cam out of the pub and walked over to them. "Anything wrong, ladies? Far too cold to be standing around in the dark, don't you—"

"There!" Joan interrupted pointing at the sky again. They watched as a light zoomed past again, like a shooting star.

"Orgom, commonly known as a meteorite." Said John smiling at Joan. "It's just rocks falling to the ground, that's all."

"It came down in the woods…" she said, not completely convinced.

"No, no no, they always look close, when actually they're miles off. Nothing left but a cinder."

"Didn't it seem a bit too bright to just be a meteor though?" Said Rose pointedly. John shook his head. "No, nothing to worry about, I assure you. Now-" he turned to Joan. "- I should escort you back to the school. "

"But it was kind of green at first." Rose cut in as Joan took John's arm. "Meteors aren't usually green, are they?"

_Please, say something…anything. Show some sign of interest, curiosity, excitement…anything!_

John looked at her for a moment. Rose waited. "Probably just a trick of the light." He said finally, not noticing the look of sheer disappointment on Roses face and began to turn in the direction of the school. "Ladies?"

Rose tried hard not to look at him and instead turned back up to the sky. "Yeah, we're fine, thanks… _sir_."

"Then I shall bid you goodnight." He put on his hat then he and Joan walked back to the school together. Rose watched their backs as they strolled in sync together, her heart heavy. John Smith wasn't the Doctor and that made looking at him all the more harder on Rose. She didn't even have to wonder what the Doctor would've done if he'd just seen the 'meteor', she knew. In fact, there wouldn't have been any need for her to so much as mention it, he'd have probably seen it before her and staring running towards it, explaining as they went…_ Well, someone has to be the Doctor_…

"That's around Cooper's field, right?" she asked Jenny, nodding her head towards where the light looked as though it had landed. Jenny nodded. "Yes, but why do you-?"

"Doesn't matter," Rose said quickly. "After all, Mr. Smith did say that there was nothing there to see, so he _must_ be right, eh? Umm, listen, Jenny… I'm gonna' take a little stroll. I'll see you back at the school later, yeh?"

"Alright, don't go too far." Jenny said and stood up. "G'night, Rose."

"Night, Jenny." Rose waited until Jenny was safely out of sight then took off in the direction of Cooper's field. It wasn't long before she reached a clearing in the woods. Rose looked around, suspicious, but there was nothing there. Reluctantly, she turned her back, "I'll getcha' next time." She said quietly and then walked towards the school.

---

The next day, as soon as she heard the lunch bell call, Rose went to see if her name had been put on the serving list for the day, it wasn't. So she got on one the rickety old bicycles used for getting groceries from town and rode off. God, she hated the bumpy road, as well as the stupid frock she had to wear. It took her three weeks to learn how to ride smoothly without getting at least one petticoat layer caught in the wheel- work. She took a turn towards the woods, right in front of an old stone barn and opened the doors. A few feet away, stood the Tardis, Roses heart warmed at the sight of it. She extracted her key and unlocked the doors.

"Hello." She said as she walked in. "How are you?" Rose pressed a hand against one of the organic columns, taking comfort in the familiar feeling beneath her fingers. She let her head rest against it and closed her eyes, memories of how all this had come to be threatened to overwhelm her…

_"Rose-" he looked her dead in the eye. "Rose, the watch is me."_

_She gaped at his words and followed him as he ran back to the controls. "What do you mean? Are you-"_

_"Those creatures are hunters, they can sniff out anyone- and me being a Time Lord; well, I'm unique. They can track me down across the whole of time and space." _

_"You mean they can smell your DNA or something? Not just your smell…?"_

_"Exactly! But they haven't seen me. And their life's bound to be running out- so, we hide, wait for them to die."_

_"But I thought you said they could track us down? How are we gonna throw them off if they can still smell you?"_

_He stopped fiddling with the controls and sighed. "That's why I've got to do it." He said, his voice husky and low. He took her hand and gave a small, serious nod. "I have to stop being a Time Lord. I'm gonna become human."_

_Before she could say anything the Doctor had pressed a button on the console and a strange metal headset was lowered from the ceiling." Never thought I'd use this. All the times I've wondered…" he gave a small laugh at the irony of the whole situation. Rose watched the headset descend towards them. "Doctor- what is that thing? What does it do?"_

_"Chameleon Arch. Re-write my biology. Literally changes every single cell in my body. I've set it to human." Without looking at her, the Doctor took the pocket watch out of her hand and snapped it onto the headset. Rose was speechless, anything that made the Doctor say that something was going to 'change every single cell' in his body did not make her feel well at all. "Now, the TARDIS will take care of everything. Invent a life story for me, find me a setting and integrate me. Can't do the same for you..." He spared her a guilty glance. "You'll have to come up with something, but I should have just enough residual awareness to let you in."_

_Rose shook her head and ran her hands over her hair. "But… if it's going to rewrite every cell does that mean that you'll…?"_

_He looked at her for moment before understanding her implications. "No." he said firmly. "Just the cells into human, I'll still looks exactly the same."_

_Rose tried not to look too relieved, but nodded and bit her lip. "Will it hurt?"_

_"Yeah, it hurts." _

Rose rolled her neck around and walked over to the controls. Sure, he may not have changed his body… she'd thought that was the worst that could happen, she was wrong. Now it was much, much worse, looking at the same face but a completely different man… she quickly took a gulp in attempt to hold back her tears. Even the memory of him screaming in agony made her hate herself. He'd told her not to touch him… that it would make things go wrong. But… having to just sit there and watch him scream for seven whole minutes, while clutching at his head in pain and growing weaker by the second, was just as much torture for her as it was for him. Her jaw trembled as she flicked on the Tardis screen and watched her Doctor appear,

"_This working_?" Rose smiled fondly as the videoed Doctor tapped the camera lens. "_Rose, before I change here's a list of instructions for when I'm human. One, don't let me hurt anyone. We can't have that, but you know what humans are like_."

Rose snorted, the chances of John Smith hitting _anyone_ were nil to nothing. "_Two, don't worry about the TARDIS, I'll put it on emergency power so they can't detect it, just let it hide away. Four- no, wait a minute, three. No getting involved in big historical events. Four- you. Don't let me abandon you_." Rose sighed, that task was probably going to get harder if things between him and the Matron kept… _advancing_ like they were. "_And five, very important_!" Rose giggled a bit as his face suddenly became angry. "_Don't let me eat pears! I hate pears! John Smith is a character I invented, but I won't know that. I'll think I am him and he'll do something stupid, like eat a pear_-" Rose nodded, it was true. She'd had to knock one out of Johns hand the other day right before he'd had the chance to bite into it, making up an excuse that he was allergic and would break into nasty hives if he did eat it, to which he agreed with after thinking about it for a moment. "-_in three months, I don't wanna' wake up from being human and taste that! And six-"_

Rose fast forwarded. "_-and twenty three. If anything goes wrong, if they find us, Rose, then you know what to do. Open the watch. Everything I am is kept safe in there. Now, I've put a perception filter on it so the human me won't think anything of it, to him it's just a watch. But don't open it unless you have to. Because once it's open, then the Family will be able to find me. It's all down to you, Rose, I trust you, and it's your choice.__"_ Rose watched sadly as he got up from his chair on the screen only to sit back down. "_Oh, and- thank you. I know you'll do brilliantly_." He paused with a smile before the screen changed back to its usual blue display. Rose returned a watery smile to the screen "I want you back…" she whispered. She had to talk to him. Now… for all their sakes.

---

He was kissing her! No, he wasn't just kissing her, they were _snogging_ each others faces off! "Rose! What have I told you about entering unannounced?!" His voice was harsh and angry… and he wasn't even looking at her. Rose ran out of the room quickly and shut the door behind her. A hand rushed to her mouth and she ran downstairs as fast as she could. No one tried to stop her on her way out, the bicycles weren't there, someone must have needed them… she'd have to walk, no, _run_! And she did, she ran all the way back to the barn. Her heart was hammering in her chest and her lungs were screaming at her in protest as she pushed on. It had been so long since they- she, it had been so long since she'd run properly. And it felt wonderful, it made her momentarily forget what had just happened and led her mind to happier things. She couldn't help but wonder if maybe the Doctor tried to take them to places where they'd end up running for their lives…or hopping…

The barn was right up ahead, only a few more meters…

Once she'd reached the Tardis doors, she'd had to stop briefly and gasp for air. Heat was pulsing through her legs uncomfortably and her throat felt like she'd had a sweet from _Karshalum_, the planet they'd been to only a few months ago, famous for their liquid fire flavored sweets that the Doctor had dared her into trying. Rose fumbled for her key and rushed inside. As soon as she felt the golden glow around her, she made a quick choice. She was spending the night in the Tardis.

First, she went to take a warm shower and get out of the ridicules frock she'd had on for two months. She then went and put on a pair of boxer shorts for a change (anything to make her feel more like herself again) and the sky blue shirt she'd bought for him a while back with '_Trust me- I'm a Doctor_.' written on it. She smiled affectionately at the memory, he's kissed her for it… _properly_ kissed her for it. And now…she shook her head, brushing back her hair in a defensive pose and flipped on the screen for the second time that day.

"_Four - you. Don't let me abandon you."_ Rose glowered, "Yeah, fat lot of good that it is. What do you want me to do now? You warn me about not letting you near pears but not about dames! _How do I keep her away from you- __him_?" She fast-forwarded again,_ "Oh, and- thank you. I know you'll do brilliantly_." She slammed her hand down on the pause button and looked at his face. Her heart burned with jealousy, misery and a little bit of guilt at her feeling like she was unable to do what he thought her capable of doing. She touched his face on the screen lightly before sliding to the floor and sitting against the console, and pressing her eyelids tightly with the heels of her palms. She tried to refrain from crying, but it was no use. Then, for the first time since they'd landed in the barn, the Tardis reacted, it hummed. Rose managed a small laugh and ran her hand across the metal grating in appreciation as well as in a consoling manner. "I miss him too…"

--

**Authors note: Gah, I feel like my writing is going downhill. I only got one review for the last chapter (From one my favorite reviewers 'Wish Wielder' –thanks so much!!—so I don't feel **_**too**_** bad. But still, remember guys, FF writers are writers who give you entertainment for free, reviews are the only pay we get! And I'm poor. XD :P **


	4. They've found us!

**Disclaimer: Ditto from the last chapter…**

--

**"They've found us!"**

Rose stretched and buried her head farther into her pillow. "I don't want to wake up yet." She mumbled to herself. But it was no use, she was already awake and no amount of whining was going to change that. She half-heartedly threw her legs over the side of her bed and walk down the corridor, towards the console room. It seemed very quite, she approached the empty console room, each step reminding her of what a goodnights sleep had made her forget- she was alone. Rose sighed and turned around. It was time to go back to work…

---

"Mr. Poole says he doesn't want his afternoon tea." Rose said mechanically while setting the elaborate trey onto the kitchen table. The Cook, Gordon, turned around to face her. She looked a right mess, just standing there- hunched over (more than usual) and staring at the floor. No wonder Mr. Poole didn't want the tea, just looking at the poor girl probably shut off any apatite he might have had for the day.

"Are all your afternoon chores done?" He said kindly, trying to grab her attention away from the stone floors- it worked. Rose looked up and nodded. Gordon furrowed his brow at her, "Well why don't you take it, you look like you could do with a good cuppa'."

"Yeah?" she said quietly, as though not daring to sound too hopeful. Gordon smiled. "Yeah, now get out of my kitchen. I have dinner plans to prepare!"

Rose grinned and took the trey. Maybe a warm cup of tea _was_ just what she needed to clear her head…

---

"There you are!" Rose said, once she'd seen Jenny. "Mr. Poole didn't want his tea, so Gordon said I could have it. There's a right amount for two, and tea is best never had alone. C'mon take a seat." She smiled at Jenny, who sniffed loudly.

"Need a hanky?" Rose asked. Jenny merely tilted her head. "No- that will not be necessary. I must have a cold coming on."

Rose raised her eyebrows then squinted suspiciously. "Right, well it is getting a bit cold… some warm tea might help."

"That would be lovely." Jenny smiled. Rose poured the tea and watched Jenny's face, something wasn't right and she knew it.

"So…" Rose started conversationally. "Are you going to be doing Mr. Smith's room or will I? What was we agreed on this morning? Sorry, my mind's a bit foggy…"

Jenny tilted her head and sniffed again. "I cannot recall. What is it we should be doing?"

Rose nodded and gulped down some tea. "Well…I'll just go and get the chores list to helps out here. Hang on a sec, I'll be right back."

She stood up carefully and walked out the door.

_They've found us! Two months of this and they still found us!_

Even though she was keeping a steady pace, her heart was beating faster. As little as she wanted to face Smith she also wanted the Doctor back just as bad…

She stood in front of his study door, and after remembering what had happened the day before, she knocked. A small woman's laugh issued from inside, giving Rose a reason to sneer before hearing a gruff; "Enter" through the door. Both John and the Matron looked putt off at the sight of her. Rose though about her words as carefully as she could under the circumstances.

"Mr. Smith, I think you should come with me for a moment." She tried very hard to sound pleasant. His eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "I don't think now is a good time, Rose. You see; I was just about to accompany Nurse Redfern to the dance and-"

What self-restraint Rose and possessed up until that moment, vanished. "Now is _really_ not the time. We've got to go- they've found us. I don't know how but they have-"

"I don't think you making my decisions for me is a wise move-"

"We really don't have the time for this right now!" she snapped and walked over to the mantle while the Nurse and John exchanged glances. Rose began to shuffle items and knocked a few things over in a feverish kind of way. "Where is it? What have you done with it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The watch! The pocket watch, right here!" she slammed her hand onto the mantle in frustration. She closed her eyes, she'd lost the watch. It was her fault, why hadn't she just kept it with her? The Doctor hadn't said that the watch had to be with him… but she just assumed- and now…

"I don't recall having a watch, least of all one thrown on the mantle." John said. Rose took a deep breath and walked right up to him.

"They've got Jenny. Like- like the Slitheen! Remember the Slitheen?" She said hopefully, his eyes were lacking any recognition. "C'mon, remember… Downing Street, the whole Slitheen family had us trapped with Harriet Jones, while they were dressed up in human bodies. Remember? They'd blow off every now and then which is how you knew where they'd come from?"

She gave a little laugh, still no acknowledgement, but Rose pressed on. "It's just like that, only now they have Jenny's body and I don't know how they're controlling her but she keeps sniffing and turning her head in funny ways…"

"Oh, this is ridicules." Joan said. John broke eye contact with Rose and turned to face Joan. "Yes, quite. Rose I think it's time you stopped with this nonsense and left."

Rose scowled. "I'm not going anywhere without you again, we're going back to the Tardis right now!" she grabbed his wrist and began to drag him out of the study. By the time she'd reached the door, John had recovered from his initial shock and twisted his wrist out of her grasp. "Rose, you are hereby dismissed! You will leave these premises immediately!" and with that, he slammed the door on her hurt and stunned face.

---

Tim Latimer ran his fingers along the fob watch as he walk around the back of the school. Rose ran out the back door and accidentally knocked into him. "Sorry, Tim!" she said, but Tim was blinded…

It was Rose, but it wasn't Rose. She was surrounded in a blinding golden light and her eyes were glowing.

_The Timewar ends!_

She raised her hand and then… Tim shook his head and he was back behind the school again, Rose running off into the distance. Tim watched her go, and without knowing why- the words "Bad Wolf" rolled off his lips.

---

Wait, why was she running back to the Tardis? Rose slowed down her pace and took a breather. She couldn't keep going back to the Tardis every time John Smith said something nasty to her. Quickly, Rose reversed herself; she was going to that dance.

---

There it was, little cottage. "Lovely party spot." She muttered and walked up to the front door. An old man with a tin containing a few coins was standing at the door.

"Back entrance, Rose, atta' girl." He said; smiling at her.

"Aw come on Mr. Wright." She flashed him a grin. "Mr. Smith forgot his specs and he's blind as a bat on a good day, so if I don't get in there he'll probably end up stepping all over everyone's feet and then blame me for not getting his specs to him on time. C'mon… I'll be in and out before you know it." Rose bit her bottom lip; she hated lying through her teeth to such a nice old man.

"Oh, alright… but not for too long!"

Rose let out a sigh of relief and smiled appreciatively as she walked in. John was standing in line to get drinks while the Nurse was waiting at the sidelines, Rose made her way over.

"Oh, please don't, not again." Nurse Redfern said Rose approached her.

"Listen, Matron, I'm sorry… so sorry. But you have to understand; he can't stay." Rose frowned sympathetically. "You know that he doesn't belong here-"

"I don't know what you mean." Joan said, raising her chin up defensively.

"Yes you do. You said so yourself, _'like he's left the kettle on- something he needs to get back to'_. Well he does, he does have something to get back to. And you've seen it in his eyes, haven't you? Just for a moment, he's not John Smith… he's the amazing man in his journal."

Joan's eyes fluttered uncomfortably, she opened her mouth as though about to speak before John Smith himself walked up.

"Oh, now really, Rose… This is getting out of hand. I must insist that you leave."

Rose did the one thing she could think of doing, the one thing she'd wanted to do since he put that stupid helmet on his head two moths ago, she took his hand. John looked down at her hand, shocked before meeting her gaze again.

"You're not John Smith." Rose said in and undertone. "You're the Doctor, my Doctor. You save the world everyday and don't even expect a thanks…"

John was starting to grow uneasy again, so Rose took both his hands. "Help me." She whispered.

There it was! For a split second, he was the Doctor again. Without realizing what he was doing he gripped her hands tighter. His eyes grew cloudy and dangerous but beautiful and loving at the same time. But just as quickly as the face had come; it was also gone just as fast. John gulped and looked at the ground, his hand shaking slightly. But before Rose could say anything to him, Mr. Clarke walked in and knocked over a coat rack with a gun in his hand; causing people to shriek and move away.

"There will be silence! All of you!" He bellowed. Grotesque scarecrows filed in behind him, followed by Baines and Jenny.

"Mr. Clarke! What's going on?" The announcer asked. Mr. Clarke turned to the announcer and fired his gun at his, the man dissolved into the nothing. More shrieks and screams issued from the crowed. Rose slowly stood in front of John, shielding him from view.

"We asked for Silence!" said Baines. The crowed hushed down, although some whimpering could still be heard. "Now then, we have some questions for Mr. Smith."

"Better than that," Rose turned her head quickly; a little girl with a balloon was coming forward. And if anything could be said about her, it was that she gave Rose the creeps. "The teacher, he _is_ the Doctor. I heard them talking."

John stepped out from behind Rose. "No, don't!" she hissed.

Baines craned his neck; his face was a disturbing sight to behold. "You took human form." He said simply.

"Of course I'm human! I was born human! As were you Baines, and you Jenny, and you Mr. Clarke! What's going on? this is madness!" John looked nervous. Rose put a hand on his shoulder, in attempt to restrain him.

"And a human brain too! Simple, thick and dull." There was hint of laugher in Baines' voice as he said this.

"He's no good to us like this!" Jenny said.

"We need a Time Lord!" Mr. Clarke interjected.

"Easily done." Baines said. He pulled out his gun and pointed it at John, who recoiled backwards. "Change back!"

"I don't know what you mean!" John said. Rose rushed forwards again. "Leave him alone." She said as calmly as she could.

"You don't need him. You said so yourself he's human and he has no idea what you're talking about."

The family looked at each other then back at Rose in unison. "You appear to know don't you?" said Baines, his crooked smile broadening.

"Yeh, I do. And I can tell you now. There's no point in being here. The Doctor's gone. He left a long time ago. He ditched me here to throw you off… John Smith has nothing to do with this."

The little girl with the balloon cocked her eyebrow and exchanged a look with Baines. "Excellent try, Miss Tyler."

Jenny rushed forward and grabbed Rose. "She's your friend, isn't she?" Jenny asked John, her tone cruel and taunting as she held a gun to Rose's head. "Doesn't this scare you enough to change back?"

John looked like he was going to fall into a nervous attack any second. His eyes were wide with fear and his voice trembled. "I don't know what you mean!"

"Wait a minute…" Jenny looked around he room. "There that woman! The Matron! He came with her!"

Before John could protest, Mr. Clarke had grabbed Joan and taken her hostage as well, growling in her ear. John watched in shock as both women were held by their necks with guns shoved against their temples. Baines spoke again; mocking laced his every word, "Have you enjoyed it, Doctor? Being human? Has it taught you wonderful things, are you better, richer, wiser? Then let's see you answer this. Which one of them do you want us to kill? Maid or matron? Your friend - or your lover? Your choice."

--

**Authors note: I'm sooo not going to re-read this right now. I have **_**no time**_**! My mid-terms start Tuesday (Math) and I'm here writing Fanfiction… and to top it off, it's my senior year! I can tell I'm going to re-read it later and find a butt-load of typo's (my worst enemy) like I do every chapter… shame on me. Again thanks to the wonder people who reviewed! You guys make my day! **


	5. Give him back to me!

**Disclaimer: if I owned it, Last of the Time lords wouldn't gave looked like it was written by a drunk after a new years bash. **

--

**"Give him back to me."**

"Change back!" was yelled at John Smith's twitching face again. He continued to look at both women helplessly. "Make your choice Mr. Smith!"

Rose's mind was reeling, what would the Doctor do? First, get the guns pointed away from both her and the Matron. As though reading Roses mind, Alien-Jenny tightened her grip around Rose. If only there could be a little distraction or something, Rose begged mentally.

"Perhaps if that human heart breaks, the Time Lord will emerge." Said Baines, or Son of Mine as they were now calling him. Suddenly the whole family looked around manically.

_Thank God!_ Rose whipped out of Jenny's grasp quickly and grabbed the gun in the process. "Let her go!" Rose motioned to Nurse Redfern. Father of Mine simply looked towards Son of Mine, whose permanent smirk only broadened. "Or you'll shoot, will you?"

"Killed the Dalek emperor, you think I'll have a problem with you?" Rose hopped that the firmness in her voice was convincing them more than it was herself. They paused momentarily then released Joan, who walked subtly back to John's side. Rose tried not to make her sigh of relief too obvious. "Mr. Smith," she said, her eyes still fixated on the family and her gun held steady. "Get everyone out, make sure everyone's out of here safe." Nothing seemed to be happening. "C'mon! John, now! _Get them out_!" she yelled, annoyed. The sound of feet shuffling out could be heard, then the typical screaming riot as soon as their feet were outside building.

"Come on boy! Back to the school!" she heard John yell frantically.

"You too John," She said.

"We- well, what about you?"

Rose smiled and spared him half a glance. "Can't have you here like this, Mr. Smith. Best make sure Tim and the Matron make it back to the school safely."

For a second she could hear his breathing, in perfect unison with the sound of her heard hammering in her ears, before the sound of his footsteps leaving followed. Her stomach pulled in disappointment, but not out of surprise.

Slowly, Rose started to back away towards the door, the family following her with eerie footsteps. "I know who you are, but what have you done with Jenny? And the rest of these people?" her gaze fell on the little girl with the haunting face.

"Consumed." Mother of Mine said simply, with a sick tilt of her head. "We now own the bodies."

"So they're dead." Rose said. At that moment she hated herself. It was her fault, it was all her fault. If she'd kept the stupid watch with her… if she hadn't…

Rose screamed as a scarecrow hand covered her face. She dropped the gun and ran out the door. John and the Matron were still hanging about at the gate. "Run!" she yelled at them in frustration. "Come ON!"

They ran back to the school, jade beams of light were being shot and the screaming from the crowds in the distance intensified. The moonlight was bright and illuminated their path clearly, across the slippery grass and on the hard gravel paths, until they finally reached the school gates. Once inside John snatched up a bell and began to ring it loudly.

Rose watched in horror as his arm flew up and down, making the sound louder. "What are you doing?!" she squeaked incredulously. His eyes were wide and mad, but he still wasn't looking at her. "Every one man can't fight them, but this school teaches us to stand together! _Take Arms_!" he yelled out, his voice bellowing through the halls. Rose felt her throat run dry, the same words running through her head over and over again,

_Don't let me hurt anyone. We can't have that, but you know what humans are like_…

She ran up to him and grabbed his hand to stop him from ringing the bell anymore, forcing him to look at her. "Listen to me, you have to stop. This isn't the way. This is never the way." Before either of them had a chance to say anything more, Hutchinson was coming down the stairs. "What is it, Sir?"

"Enemy at the door, Hutchinson. Enemy at the door." Hutchinson nodded seriously and wore a brave face. John pulled his hand away from Rose and continued to ring the bell, _'Take Arms!_' falling fast from his lips.

Rose's eyes welled up as boys younger than her cousins stomped down the stairs in an orderly fashion, already in military mode. She looked around having lost sight of John and followed the boys. Within minutes, rifles were being assorted and loaded then handed out. John was helping with a bag of bullets at one end of the room, Rose made her way over to him and pulled him a side.

"John, really, you _can't_ do this. Look around!" she threw her arm out at the boys to emphasize her point. "They can't do this! They're little boys! You can't ask them to fight! Cause then you're just asking them to die!"

"I'll have to stop your right there, Miss Tyler-" he said firmly.

"Stop talking to me like that!" she hissed.

"These boys are cadets; they have been trained to protect the people and the properties-"

"What they've been trained to do doesn't mean it'll save them! These are aliens we're talking about here!" she looked into his eyes, begging him to understand. He opened his mouth but was cut off again but the stiff voice of the headmaster.

"What in thunders name is this?!" he bellowed, walking into the room, his eyes furious. "Before I device a series of punishments for each and every single one of you, will someone mind telling me –quite simply- what is going on?!"

John took a deep breath and stepped up to the headmaster. "Headmaster, the school is under attack." He said seriously.

The Headmaster furrowed his brow. "Really? Is that so?"

A spark of hope lit itself in Rose, that maybe, just maybe the headmaster would stop it. She was sorely disappointed when he believed what was happening after confirming it with the Matron. Rose growled in frustration before she could finish listening to him give the boys more orders and ran up the stairs. _She had to find that watch_!

Rose rushed into John's room, only vaguely acknowledging the Matron's presence while she set about turning the room upside down in pursuit of the fob watch. No where, not inside any of the drawers, or on the mantle… her hands raced to any surface or possible hiding place they could reach for. She only stopped briefly when she heard the Matron speak,

"Rose, will kindly explain the situation to me." Rose looked up, Joan was holding herself with all the dignity of a true lady, but was clearly frightened. "Why are the village farmer, a maid, a little girl and a student after Mr. Smith?"

"You see, it's hard to explain…" Rose began, walking towards Joan who continued to look at her expectantly. "John Smith isn't…John Smith. He's The Doctor."

"The man in the journal."

"Yeah, I guess. And this sounds mad I know, but, the Doctor isn't from here… and he needed to change so that these aliens wouldn't follow us. So he took his alien part and kept it safe in the watch, which I can't find anywhere." Rose continued to pull down the sheets and move the pillows in search of the item in question.

"And by alien, you mean not from abroad, I take it."

Rose let her arms fall to her sides again, and tried to make Joan understand. "He comes from a completely different planet, and so are the things inside those peoples bodies! But…not from the same planet as him…"

"Another species…?" Joan said, faintly. Rose nodded. "Then tell me, Rose, who are you?"

Rose couldn't help but smile. She's been introduced or named so many things… "I'm his companion, the Doctor's." best go back to the basics, she thought.

"And...Human. I take it."

"Yeh, human." Rose said with a grin. "But not for much longer if we don't find that watch… it's the only way to stop them."

Joan rushed out of the room, while Rose carried on with her search.

---

Fifteen minutes later, surrounded in the mess of her own making, Rose kicked a nightstand in frustration and ran out of the room. The watch wasn't there! Her heart stopped as she made her way down the stairs, gunshots. She could hear bullets being fired! She saw the Matron standing by a window, looking out. Rose joined her, sadness washed over her at the sight on the young boys. It wasn't right! And there was John…and as Rose noticed, wasn't looking too sure of his choice now.

Rose pressed her face closer to the freezing window as someone small walked in through the gate. It was the girl!

"That's her, isn't it?" Rose said to the Matron. "The girl who was with them, that's her, isn't it?"

Nurse Redfern opened and closed her mouth, wordlessly and shrugged. "I suppose so…"

"C'mon!" Rose grabbed her hand and rushed outside.

"Sir!" she yelled at the headmaster, once they were outside. "Stay away from her! She's a part of this! Trust me, you don't want to get near her."

"I'm not going to listen to such utter nonsense." The Headmaster said stiffly, giving Rose a cold glare. "If you honestly expect me to see this poor child left out in the line of fire, then I suggest you re-think things a little."

He held his hand out to the girl, while Rose, John and Joan watched helplessly.

"You're funny." The little girl said.

There it was again, the eerie coldness and boredom oozing from her little lips. The blank look in her eyes….

"Yes, that's right come along now."

"So funny…"

Before the Headmaster had a chance to say anything else, the little girl pulled out the alien weapon and shot him into dust. Rose's arms dropped to her sides, and the dumbfounded stunned silence of the boys, painfully obvious.

"Now who's going to shoot me?" she said, her voice menacing, daring and far too old for the little body that the voice was emitting from. "Any of you? _Really_?"

Rose glanced over at John, who was lowering his gun. "Put down your guns." He said.

"But Sir… the Headmaster…" Hutchinson uttered, questioningly. John scanned the boys with his eyes, his voice firm.

"I will not see this happen. You will retreat."

While he continued to give orders, Rose was distracted by Baines walking slowly towards them. "Well what are you waiting for?" he said, teasing them with his words. "_RUN_!"

He fired his gun to ceiling and began shouting again. Rose ran towards John took his hand.

"You heard what he said, run!"

Chaos was running its usual toll on them. Everyone was haphazardly running about, no one sure about which direction they were suppose to be heading. Rose, John and Nurse Redfern made sure that they got as many of the boys out as possible then ran away from the school. Once they were in the wood a loud calling could be heard…

"Doctor…! Doctor…!"

Rose placed her fingers on her lips and crouched low behind some trees. It was the Tardis, they had the Tardis.

"Come back, Doctor! Come home! Come and claim your prize!"

He was joined by Baines. "Out you come, Doctor." He sounded like he was calling for a disobedient child. "There's a good boy. Come to the Family."

"Time to end it now!" yelled Jenny as she joined their ranks.

"They've got the Tardis." Rose whispered.

"What?" John looked right at her, eyes wider than she'd ever seen them before.

"The Tardis, the Doctor's Tardis. Home."

John shook his head, completely lost. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"If you were any deeper in denial, I'd have you psychoanalyze yourself…"

"John," Joan cut in. "It's the blue box. From your journal, you dreamt of a blue box that could take you to faraway places..."

"I'm not…" he stared at the Tardis, fear written all over his face. Rose bit the inside of her mouth. "I'm John Smith." His voice was panicky, distressed and even a little hurt. "That's all I want to be, John Smith! With his life…and his job…." He gulped and his voice faltered as he looked pleadingly into Joan's eyes. "And his love…"

Rose inhaled deeply, and tried not to hold his hands comfortingly.

"Why can't I be John Smith? Isn't he a good man?" he was starting to cry now.

"Yes, yes he is." Joan almost whispered to him reassuringly.

"Why can't I stay?"

"I'm sorry John," Both John and Joan looked over at Rose, as though they'd forgotten her presence. "But this isn't who you are… the Doctor needs to come back. That's who you really are."

"So who am I then? Nothing?" his simple words pierced her. How could you tell someone who was right in front of you that they didn't exist? "I'm just a story?"

He got up and walked away, Joan following him. Rose felt horrible, but knew that it couldn't continue like this…

---

Joan led them to a cottage, a little away from the rest of the village. They walked in cautiously. "Hello?" Joan said, upon opening the door. "No one home."

"Wait a minute…isn't this the Cartwright's home?" Rose said. Joan nodded.

"Yes, little Lucy Cartwright, that girl in the village, with the balloon." She placed her hand on the teapot. "Stone cold."

Rose and Joan watched John sit heavily into a chair by the window. "I must go them." His voice, grave.

"I don't think so." Rose said walking towards him. "You go and hand yourself over to them like this and they'll probably rip you apart. And I want that body in one piece by the end of this, so you wipe that idea clear out of your mind."

"Rose, there must be something we can do…" Joan said. Rose shook her head.

"They want the Doctor and he's in the watch. Our only hope now is that they don't find it before we do. And judging by the way they keep trying to hunt us down, I'd say that they still haven't managed to get their hands on it yet."

"You're this doctor's companion! Can't you help?" he yelled at her. "_What exactly is it you do for him_?!"

Right then, Rose honestly felt like slapping him.

"_Why does he need you_?!" he spat.

Rose couldn't help but think back, back to when he brought her back after making her witness the end of her planet. It was then, after he admitted to loosing his own planet that she knew how much he needed her…and the other way around.

"We need _each other_." Rose tried to keep her voice as calm as she could, but was unable to hide the bitter notes in her voice. "We teach each other how to live…"

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a knock at the door.

"What if it's them?" Joan whispered.

Rose walked over to the window and peered sideways, it was Tim. She opened the door for him.

"Come inside, Tim. It's not safe out there."

Tim held up his hand "I brought you this." The watch was in his palm.

Rose brought him inside and hugged him. "Oh thank you!" she kissed the top of his head and took the watch.

"Here you go, just take it." Rose said, her arm outstretched in John's direction.

"I won't." He said bluntly.

"It told me to find you." Tim said quietly. "It wants to be held."

"You've had the watch all this time, why didn't you return it?" Joan asked.

"It was waiting." Tim said simply. "And…because I was so scared…of the Doctor."

"Why?"

"Because… I've seen him."

Rose lowered her hand and turned to face him.

"He is like fire and ice and rage." Tim began to walk towards John. "He is like the night and the storm and the heart of the sun…"

Rose grinned. Hearing the Doctor being described was like a breath of fresh air after being buried underground.

"Stop it!" John hissed.

"He is ancient and forever," Tim continued, on a roll now. "He burns at the centre of time and he can see the turn of the universe."

"Stop it! I said _stop it_!"

"And…he's wonderful."

Rose covered her mouth with her hand. She wanted her wonderful Doctor back. The Oncoming Storm, the most wonderful and frightening man she'd ever met. And she was being deprived of him…

"I still have this!" Joan said, cutting off all train of thought. "The journal!"

"Those are just stories." John said stubbornly.

"Now we know that's not true." Joan said, "Maybe there's something in here…"

_BAM!_

An explosion erupted somewhere outside. They rushed to the window in attempt to get a view of what was happening. Huge balls of flames were hurtling towards the village.

"They're destroying the village." Joan muttered.

"The watch!" John snapped and grabbed it out of Tim's grasp.

"Can you hear it?" Tim asked.

"It's asleep, waiting to wake." John replied.

"Why did it speak to me?"

"Ooah, low level telepathic field, you were born with it…"

Rose gave a shout of joy. John on the other hand, shuddered and looked terrified. "Is that how he talks?"

"Yes, that's him." Rose said, taking a step forwards. "Please… open it, bring him back to me."

He heaved his labored breaths and looked at her in anger. "You knew this all along and yet you watched as Nurse Redfern and I…"

"I tried to get you to stop! He told me what to stop him from doing once he became human but that wasn't exactly first on the to-do list!" Rose hissed at him.

"Falling in love? That didn't even occur to him?!"

_That_ was going too far!

"_He already was in love_!"

For a moment neither of them moved. They just stood at a distance and stared at each other. On one end was John, his face set in a frown, holding back his tears but his eyes betrayed his fear. And there was Rose, her fists clenched and her face a mixture of anger, longing and all pleading. Rose gave him a look, as though daring him to say anything. He didn't.

"Listen, those aliens need new bodies or else after three months, they die. The Doctor's plan was to change his body, so that they couldn't find him for three months, because they'd have tried to use him if he didn't."

John's lips were shaking; his breathing was shallow and shaky. "So you're my executer! You're asking me to die!"

"You never existed! Nothing in your past is real!"

Another bomb exploded outside, this time, shaking the cottage,

"They're getting closer." said Tim.

John rushed forward. "I can give them this! If they want the Doctor they can have him!"

"Don't you dare!" Rose yelled. "You're him, not the other way around. You have no right to give him up to them like that!"

"But then they can leave! They can take him and leave!" he was starting to stutter. "If they get what they what then- then…"

"Then it all ends in destruction."

Everyone turned to Joan who was holding the journal open. "I never read to the end. Those creatures would breed forever, to live and concur… a war across the stars. For every child."

John gave a sob.

"Tim, Rose… would you leave us alone for a moment?" Joan said.

Rose opened her mouth to argue, until she caught Joan's eye. There was a moment of understanding that passed between them. Two women, in love with two very different men, and only one of them was going to have their other half before the dawn. Rose nodded to Joan and stepped outside with Tim.

**A/N**: **I am **_**so sorry**_**! My exams went badly then my sister got engaged then I traveled to Turkey then school started and then my electricity went out! So I've been kind of busy. But don't worry; I'm not quitting this story. To those of you who have reviewed…thank you very, very, very much. Really, thanks for the motivation! Only a little left!!**


	6. Welcome Back

**Disclaimer: HA!! As if. **

**A/N: Final chapter guys, please enjoy!**

--

**"Welcome Back"**

Tim shivered as the explosions went off in the distance. Rose watched his face sympathetically and took his hands into hers while she draped an arm around his shoulders comfortingly.

"Don't worry, Tim." She whispered. "Once we've got the Doctor's back, everything will be alright."

"I know." He said quietly, not looking at her. "I've seen it."

Rose gave him a quizzical look and rubbed his arm. "What do you mean?

Tim shuddered out of her grasp and shook his head quickly with his eyes shut tight.

_Am I ever going to see you again?_

_You can't._

"Tim? Tim? You alright?" Rose asked, concerned for the boy. Tim looked up at her, his eyes were pitying and sad, and he opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm sorry."

"What for? You haven't done anything wrong, Tim. You hear me? No one blames you for the watch."

He shook his head. "No, not because of that."

"Then… what?" Rose didn't like the way he was looking at her. It was too foreboding, like she should be frightened. But she wasn't, just worried. He took a deep breath.

"For-" he was cut of as a sound like a storm issued from inside the cottage. Rose jumped up and rushed to the door, her hand flying to the handle, but before she could even apply even the smallest amount of pressure, the door swung open dramatically.

Once she looked straight into the eyes of person standing in the doorframe Rose smiled with all the force left within her, even if her chest was bubbling with tears, both of joy and anguish over everything that had happened in the last two months.

"Alright there?" The Doctor asked with a grin to match hers. Rose didn't answer him; she pounced and threw her arms around him. The Doctor laughed, briefly, before tightening his hold on her. "You okay?"

Rose nodded into his neck and laughed a little before letting go. "'bout time you got back! Those things are destroying the village." She said, pointed towards the explosions.

"Okie- dokie!" he said, grinning madly. "Off we go then!" Rose giggled as he took her by the hand and ran, towards danger, laughing all the way.

---

Dawn was creeping over the horizon, bringing freshness and a calm that, considering the events of the night before, no one would have thought to be possible. The Doctor and Rose placed The Family in individual cells in the Tardis chamber room, before showering and changing. After they'd finished, Rose brought them both cups of tea in the console room.

"So what are we gonna' do with them?" she asked as she offered him his cup of tea while taking a seat in the old chair. The Doctor gladly accepted the offer but remained leaning against the console, facing her. "What do you think? After all, you're the one who had to go through it all in the end."

"Just doing my job." She said grinning. The Doctor smiled fondly and sat down beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders in a kind of half hug. "Is there some kind of court room we could take them to? You know _intergalactic law_ or something?"

The Doctor snorted. "You just wanted to say intergalactic law!" he said with a smirk.

"Oi!" she slapped his arm playfully.

"But you're actually quite right." He said, getting serious again. "I could take them to be dealt with by the Eternals…they usually can find clever ways of imprisoning aliens without actually killing them. The bigger the deed, the worse the cell, that kind of thing…"

"Sounds good to me!"

"Brilliant!" he jumped up and was about to set the coordinates before Rose stood up and placed her hands on his, stopping him. He looked at her puzzled.

"Before we go, I think they're someone you need to talk to." She said slowly. The Doctor sighed, she was right. She was always right when it came to that kind of thing.

---

Rose waited outside the cottage for the Doctor. She felt sorry for Joan, Rose had been worried about losing the Doctor so many times before, that she couldn't even bear to think what it would actually feel like to lose another man she loved for good. And Joan… well, if it hadn't been for Joan, then Rose may never have gotten the Doctor back. At that moment, the Doctor emerged, looking flustered.

"Did you ask her?" Rose asked quietly.

"Yeah," he rubbed his left eye then scratched his forehead. "Didn't do much good though, she'll be a lot happier is she doesn't see my face again, I'll tell you that."

He didn't seem to want to say any more, Rose understood. "Do you mind?" she looked a bit nervous, the Doctor noticed. She pointed at the door behind him. "I'm just gonna pop in for a bit…"

"You sure?"

"Yeah." She nodded firmly. "You can head back to the Tardis if you want, wouldn't blame you if you wanted to stroke her a bit after two months." She added with a laugh. The Doctor tried to look offended and failed. "Nah, I'll wait for you here."

"Nice to know." She said before knocking on the door and entering. Joan was standing hunched over the table looking miserable. "Nurse Redfern?" Rose asked quietly approaching her.

Joan regained her composer and faced Rose. "No need for titles here, I don't think." She gave the smallest of smiles, allowing Rose to relax just a little.

"Okay then, Joan. I just wanted to say thanks. So much, for everything! I know it must have been really hard on you to have to say goodbye like that…"

"Forgive me, Rose, but I'm not quite sure you can." Tears were obviously being held back in Joan's eyes. Rose sighed.

"You're right, sorry. He was a good man John Smith, a really good man. But the Doctor's amazing too, and I really hope that you don't hold it against him for too long. 'Cause he does so much for us, everyday, and we humans hardly ever acknowledge it! So just… please, I know that I can't make you, but I'm asking you, if you can find it in you somewhere, to forgive him."

Joan broke down, her hands flew across the journal and she cried. Rose pulled out a chair and helped her sit down, then rubbed her shoulders, trying to offer whatever comfort Joan might accept from her. After her tears receded a little, Rose got up and reached for the tea set on the table. "I'll make you a cuppa', how's that sound?"

Joan actually smiled at this, but stopped Rose from continuing her task. "Thank you, Rose but that won't be necessary." They smiled at each other wordlessly. Rose hugged Joan then walked towards the door. "Rose!"

Rose turned around. "Yeah?"

Joan seemed to falter with her words slightly, as though not sure if she really wanted to speak at all. "Is… is he still out there?"

Rose nodded, "Yeah, he is."

"Good."

Rose opened the door and walked outside, while Joan stood at the doorway. The Doctor stood up quickly and took Rose's hand, although his eyes darted between Rose and where Joan was standing.

"Goodbye, to both of you." Joan said, a small smile gracing her face again. "And… safe journeys."

The Doctor looked taken aback and could only smile in response, Rose waved with her free hand. "Bye! And thanks again!"

Joan nodded and the Doctor and Rose made their way back to the Tardis.

"Speaking of 'thank you's," he said suddenly as they walked up the grassy hill in unison, their arms linked together. "I don't think I've quite got around to saying mine."

He stopped as they reached the Tardis doors and turned to face her. "Thank you, for looking after me and for helping bring me back."

Even if he hadn't said anything at all, the gratitude was written all over his face and deeply engraved in his eyes that it was all Rose needed. "Yeah, well, not so sure I want to baby-sit you again though." She said, trying to sound funny, but the effect was ruined by the slight tremble in her voice. The Doctor nodded and enveloped her again.

"Doctor. Rose" they both looked around to find Tim coming up to them.

"Hey there, Tim. Everything alright?" Rose asked giving him a smile.

"I just wanted to say goodbye, and thank you. Because I've now seen the future and now know what must be done." The Doctor and Rose exchanged glances as Tim went on. "It's coming, isn't it? The biggest war ever."

"You gonna fight, then?" Rose asked.

"Wouldn't- _aren't_ you?"

"Point well-taken, but remember, you help save the world today, no matter what anyone tells you, you're as brave as they come."

Tim nodded and looked down at the ground, grateful for her words.

"But promise me you'll look out for yourself, yeh?"

He smiled. "I promise."

The Doctor used his left hand to dive inside his pockets and pulled out the watch. "Tim, I would be honored if you'd take this." He said and held out the watch to Tim, but completely aware of the proud smile of Rose's face.

"I can't hear anything." Tim said, looking up at the Doctor.

"No, it's just a watch now." He said, "But keep it with you, for good luck."

Tim's face lit up. Rose detached her hand from the Doctor's and hugged Tim. "Good luck, we'll see around again some time, and that's a promise. Take care."

The Doctor opened the door and held it open for Rose. "You'll like this bit." Rose heard him say right before he stepped inside.

"Off to the intergalactic court, are we?" Rose said with a grin. The Doctor gave a snort of laugher.

"If the Eternals heard you calling them that, you'd probably get yourself a sentence I wouldn't be able to rescue you from."

"Funny, coming from the man was hiding away in a watch for two months." She poked her tongue out at him from the corner of her mouth when then something occurred to her. "Doctor? I never asked, do you… remember anything from the time that you were John Smith?"

He looked up from the controls. "Well… bits and pieces. Some things clearer than others."

"Oh," she bit her lip. "Anything from last night?"

"Bits and pieces." He repeated, this time he was grinning that cheeky grin.

"Some things I said were clearer than other then, eh?" she asked, eyes narrowed and her lips twitching.

"Exactly." He said, his grin broadening. "Something about the Slitheen and blowoffs…"

Rose laughed in attempt to conceal her embarrassment but smiled fondly at him. "I'm just glad you're back."

The Doctor set the coordinates and smiled back at her as the Tardis jumbled about through the vortex. "Likewise."

He knew what she had wanted to ask, but now didn't seem to be the right time… still, he thought with a grin, at least she knows.

**ALOHA REVIWERES!!! Thanks so much for all you're lovely support, you were all **_**fantastic**_**! And thanks to she-had-a-chance for the original idea, it was a challenge, and I hope I did well! Oh, and for those youtube viewers, check out 'A Rose by Any name' by piffo. GREAT John Smith video. Makes me happy. : ) anyways, thanks again all! See you all very soon! (please place your donation in the little blue box)**


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